About this episode

The episode discusses the multifaceted nature of progress through historical examples, particularly focusing on child labor laws from the New Deal era.

(Originally aired 5/06/25) What sparks progress? The right political conditions? Social pressure? Economic upheaval? In response to two listeners’ questions, we say… both none of those and all of the above. As an example, we talk through just one bit of the New Deal in the 1930s, which was the law to limit child labor. That movement started decades earlier, and continued decades afterward. For those keeping score at home, this a sneaky third installment of Kathryn’s 68-part series on the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Chapters: 00:01:08 Announcements 00:01:43 Retcon 00:03:58 Terms & Conditions 00:07:03 Centerpiece 00:42:56 Executive Orders 00:46:25 Spiritual Sponsors Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Follow us on Instagram at ⁠⁠ @optimist_economy or TikTok at ⁠⁠ @optimist_economy . Or on the Optimist Economy YouTube channel⁠⁠ . Chat with other Optimists on Substack. Shirts, caps and totes, oh my!: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Reach us at optimist.economy@gmail.com

Topics covered

• progress
• political conditions
• social pressure
• economic upheaval
• child labor
• New Deal
• Fair Labor Standards Act

Keywords

• progress
• New Deal
• child labor
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• political conditions
• social pressure
• economic upheaval

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